*Kevin Hayden provides an additional tribute to women of blogging: "Wimminz Get their Day, but that ain't enough.."
This blogstress was gifted with the highlighted word "many" sandwiched in between my gurlfellow blogkind. It reminds me of the saying "From one-- many and from many--one." All these female blogstress spirits represent separate parts linked to the entirety of "blogstress-consciousness".
MANY thanks to Kevin!

However, Mr. Tenet said he planned to call Mr. Cheney's attention to a recent misstatement, in a Jan. 9 interview, when the vice president recommended as "your best source of information" on links between Iraq and Al Qaeda the contents of a disputed memorandum by senior Pentagon official, Douglas J. Feith. That memo was sent last October to the Senate Intelligence Committee, and information from the memo was used last November in an now-infamous article titled "Case Closed" published in the Weekly Standard. In my opinion, the article seemed an attempt to convince readers that there was conclusive evidence of collaboration between Saddam Hussein's government and Al Qaeda. The article's writer, Stephen Hayes, failed to mention that intelligence agencies objected to Mr. Feith's findings.

By now, we've become accustomed to the fact that the absence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction — the principal public rationale for the war — hasn't become a big political liability for the administration. That's bad enough. Even more startling is the news from one of this week's polls: despite the complete absence of evidence, 53 percent of Americans believe that Saddam had something to do with 9/11, up from 43 percent before his capture. The administration's long campaign of guilt by innuendo, it seems, is still working.

In retrospect, this news should not have been startling. Officials such as VP Dick Cheney were making public statements which were misleading Americans (whether intentional or unintentional, they were misleading just the same).

I think it's time we correct VP Cheney publically.

Professor Rodger Payne discusses the misleadings

Blogger Rodger Payne (Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Louisville KY) has contributed some updated information about Salman Pak-an alleged terror camp in Iraq that was the proving-ground centerpiece of the "Case Closed" article. (See Professor Payne's entry titled Al-Qaida-Iraq Link Further Debunked). You may safely look at the official facts available today and rationally assume it's possible that Salman Pak never existed at all. Knight-Ridder reporters have been told by a lot of senior people in the intelligence community that "The U.S. military has found no evidence of such a facility."

Regarding the disturbing lack of evidence, Professor Payne says:

...this is a particularly egregious finding, first because DoD still lists the capture of the camp as one of its war accomplishments and second because the current head of the Iraq Survey Group (Charles Duelfer, who took over from David Kay) claimed that he saw the camps when he was a UN weapons inspector. Dunlop points out that no such claim is reported in the UN reports about Iraqi weapons.
The media could play a central role in assuring public accountability. Dunlop notes that someone should ask Duelfer about Salman Pak.

I think it's time the press corrects VP Cheney publically. An informed public is necessary in order for a healthy American democracy to exist. Case definitely NOT closed.

After 9-11, old statistics and predictions went out the window and the changed world demanded a new direction

I was reading a series of discussions between Harvard's Steven Pinker (Dept. of Psychology) and Clark R. Chapman/Alan W. Harris (research scientists at Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado) about terrorist risk calculations in the aftermath of 9-11. I found it interesting...it makes you think twice about the way we saw the world before 9-11...and the way we see it today. What is most interesting is how our deepest thinkers still see things in respectively differing perspectives.

CHAPMAN/HARIS- Why does 9/11 remain our focus rather than the equally vast carnage on the nation's highways or Indian earthquake victims?

PINKER- ...one cannot use the rate of major terrorist attacks in, say, the past 10 years to estimate the rate in the next 10 years. Wahabism and anti-Americanism may be more widespread, nuclear weapons more available, copycats more emboldened, and so on. Because of these uncertainties, anyone who claims to have calculated the mathematically correct probability that a horrendous terrorist attack will take place in the next year would be talking through his hat......Nonhuman causes of deaths (such as sharks, airplane part failures, and carcinogens) don't take into account how people react to them. Human causes of deaths (such as terrorists) do. Bin Laden had no negotiable demands, but thought that Americans society was so decadent and spiritually bankrupt that a few easily inflicted humiliating blows would lead to its collapse. A public response of defiance and solidarity, and the implementation of extensive preventive security measures, could change such calculations in the minds of future terrorists....dealing with terrorists is a problem in game theory, not just a problem in risk estimation...

CHAPMAN/HARRIS- ..Recent polls show that about one-quarter of American respondents regard themselves as being personally at risk from terrorists. It is fair to note that with respect to the recent past, including the September 11, 2001, attacks, this perception is orders of magnitude off. Looking to the future, for this perception to be correct would require a World Trade Center-level terrorist attack somewhere in the U.S. roughly every week, for life. Lacking some realistic expectation that the level of terrorism will soar by factors of thousands, we must ascribe this disparity to twisted perceptions--driven, of course, by news-inspired fears, as the terrorists intend-about the real dangers....We don't agree that the terrorist attacks provided much new information about the willingness of terrorists to co-opt our modern technologies to kill and terrorize as many people as possible. It may be, as Pinker suggests, that "defiance and solidarity" will deter terrorists. That was surely President Bush's view before he attacked Iraq, though his critics believe the opposite. Perhaps a diminution of American arrogance in the international arena, and examining and addressing the root causes of terrorism, would be more effective. Time will tell if Bush's approach worked or not. Meanwhile, it is imperative that Americans continue to ask themselves whether the terrorists' objectively modest attacks aren't succeeding beyond Osama bin Laden's wildest dreams through our capitulation to fear, which causes us to distort our national values and comportment in the world community...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today I read Nicholas Kristof and I wondered if I should listen more to Pinker or to Chapman/Harris. Although I saw great wisdom in both points of view, I decided, in the case of what I believe is a potentially devastating and out-of-control nuclear threat, to go over to Pinker's corner in the case of Russian states and North Korea. The problem lies in the game theory. The Bush administration is not at the top of this game. As a matter of fact, I fear they've thrown the gaming aside for the temporary thrill of conquering a tin-pan dictator or two.. bombs and snake holes enough to excite the GOP base into thinking we're tough, safe and secure. This could prove fatal to many, many people...and this is by no means a Chicken-Little warning. We'd best get our priorities straight before it's too late.

From the Kristof column:

"...It's mystifying that the administration hasn't leaned on Pakistan to make Dr. Khan available for interrogation to ensure that his network is entirely closed....Another puzzle is why an administration that spends hundreds of billions of dollars in Iraq doesn't try harder to secure uranium and plutonium in Russia and elsewhere. The bipartisan program to secure weapons of mass destruction is starved for funds — but Mr. Bush is proposing a $41 million cut in "cooperative threat reduction" with Russia......The steps that are needed, like negotiating seriously with North Korea and securing sites in Russia, aren't as dramatic as bombing Baghdad. But unless we act more aggressively, we will get a wake-up call from a nuclear explosion or, more likely, a "dirty bomb" that uses radioactive materials routinely lying around hospitals and factories.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bush finally put pressure on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to cashier Khan. But when Musharraf then pardoned Khan in an elaborate charade that shielded the Pakistani government from blame, Bush did not utter a word of criticism, even though Musharraf is not letting Washington ask Khan who his nuclear customers were.
This is irresponsibility of the highest order, and it undermines Bush's claim that he is keeping the United States safe from nuclear terror.

Last June 10, I posted a recommendation to see this Jon Stewart/Comedy show video. It means more now than it EVER did! Go see it!It's very timely! It's 'flip-flop extraordinaire'! It's Gov. Bush vs. Prez Bush!

"Too often, outstanding students from families of modest means do not believe that college is an option for them, much less an Ivy League university. Our doors have long been open to talented students regardless of financial need, but many students simply do not know or believe this. We are determined to change both the perception and the reality."

Drudge reports the new talk radio network will launch March 31st with the following schedule:

Monday-Friday

Uprising: 6:00-9:00am

This is a fast paced morning show that will entertain and engage audiences with wit and political satire. It will feature the latest news, offering up to-the-minute interviews with newsmakers, analysis and strong opinions.

Host: Marc Maron
Co-host: Sue Ellicott
Co-host: Mark Riley

Unfiltered: 9:00am- 12:00pm

Air America’s midmorning program is a showcase for conversation about the political and cultural state of the union. Unfiltered introduces listeners to fresh new voices not available in mainstream media today.

Co-host: Lizz Winstead
Co-host: Chuck D
Co-host: Laura Flanders

The O’ Franken Factor: 12:00-3:00pm

Relentless, pure satire, delivered by the leading political humorist of this generation. With his partner, longtime radio host Katherine Lanpher, this will be three hours of fearless barbs, sketches, and interviews with newsmakers and characters who have lived, up until now, only in Al’s fertile imagination. He’s no policy wonk, but this best-selling author and veteran of Saturday Night Live, is devoting his energy to fighting back against rightwing propaganda with hard evidence and facts.

Host: Al Franken
Co-host: Katherine Lanpher
Producer: Billy Kimball

The Randi Rhodes Show: 3:00-7:00pm

Randi Rhodes has spent the last 20 years burning up the airwaves in southern Florida with her pointed and provocative brand of talk radio. Combining live interview, call-in and commentary, Randi engages her audience with a passionate presentation.

Host: Randi Rhodes

So What Else Is News? : 7:00-8:00pm

Based in Los Angeles, this is a one-hour program showcasing the intersection of politics, media and popular culture. This program will feature analysis and reports from the presidential campaign, as well as a daily reporters’ roundtable on how the news of the day is affected and reflected by the media. Marty will also cover the spinning of the news with a regular segment called “The Corrections.” This is also the place to hear the political voice of Hollywood, with celebrity guest interviews from the entertainment industries.
Host: Marty Kaplan

The Majority Report: 8:00pm-11:00pm

This program will introduce new, younger voices and opinions, with live guests from the world of politics, the arts and entertainment. Host: Janeane Garofalo
Co-host: Sam Seder

Saturday and Sunday

Air America Radio’s weekend line-up will offer more original programming, like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Mike Papatanio’s “Champions of Justice,” a program that brings a fresh and entertaining perspective to talk radio from the top legal and social issues focused minds in the country. Additional programming will include Best-of Air America Radio and Best-of-O’Franken Factor as well as other original programming to be announced soon.

Jude Says..

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About Me

Iddybud is a descendant of American patriots, membership to DAR pending, a descendant of a family member who lost another dubious American Presidential election in 1876, so you might understand why she took Selection 2000 to heart.

desiderata - by max ehrmann
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant, they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love, for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is perennial as the grass.
Take kindly to the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.
Max Ehrmann c.1920